The REAL Reason Why Donovan Mitchell Is Playing BETTER (Ft. NBA Dunks, Passing, & Moves)

Donovan Mitchell was the NBA rookie that lead the Jazz in the playoffs, but he fell off in the beginning of this season. Now, Mitchell has been playing better, but why? #NBA #DonovanMitchell #Jazz Instagram- @MJ2K_ALLDAY

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Donovan Mitchell was spectacular, leading the Jazz in his NBA rookie season. But this season seemed like a step back. Now, he’s been on a tear.

Donovan Mitchell started off the season seeming like he didn’t really take the next step. Mitchell had just averaged 20 points in his rookie season, he had led the Jazz over the Thunder in the playoffs, and so the expectation was he was going to take a jump, but in the first 40 games in this season, Donovan sort of stumbled. While he did average 20 points per game (20.2), he was shooting 41% from the field and 29% from 3, while the Jazz went 20-20. These last 24 games, Donovan is averaging 27.8 points per game, shooting 37.4% from 3 while the Jazz have been winning, so let’s break this down.

To see what’s made Donovan better, let’s first discuss what he was doing before. What made Donovan so special was his mentality, his ability to stand up in the clutch, to pace a team with his scoring. And that hasn’t changed. In fact, the Jazz are 3rd in the league in point differential in the clutch. Donovan also had a set of finishing moves, most notably the go to scoop layup. Yeah there were floaters, and of course there were dunks, but Donovan almost exclusively went to the scoop layup at the rim or slight variations. He was a creative finisher and adjusted well to the defender ar the rim. He also did not shoot many midranges, I blame the era of analytics. He opted for either the 3 or finding a way into the paint. He didn’t seem threatening while in the midrange area because you just knew that he was trying to go to the paint instead of having the option of a midrange or layup. While in his rookie season, his opponents didn’t know his tendencies and so only 37.9% of his shots were tightly contested while 8% of his shots were very tightly contested. This year, 47.5% of his shots are tightly contested while 8.9% were very tightly contested. And so being the primary scoring option meant that NBA defenses would focus on him, but it doesn’t seem like he has new moves to rely on or go to which means last year’s moves would be enough for scouting reports for this year. Donovan did suffer a foot injury towards the end of last year’s playoffs and wasn’t cleared to play until halfway through June.

The Jazz were without Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum, & Raul Neto meaning the Jazz were without all their point guards. And so Donovan Mitchell, who is only 6’ 3”, was put at the point guard spot. And with that, he excelled. In a 6 game stretch in January with Donovan starting at point guard, Donovan averaged 30 points on 51% shooting from the field and 40% shooting from 3 along with 5.7 assists per game. Can the man get some credit? What makes this amazing is not necessarily the points per game, but more the efficiency and the assists. Donovan became more efficient at shooting from all over the floor which has never been a strength for Donovan, but as the point guard, he was no longer shooting over longer shooting guards, he was instead shooting over shorter point guards and with a 6’10” wingspan, he’s able to release the ball at a bit higher set point and stretch past the hands of point guards. It’s giving him another weapon of attacking. If the defense believes you will shoot, and you do, you’re not throwing variability into the mix and that’s when you need some sort of unstoppable move, that no matter what the defender does, you can still score, whether it was Dirk’s one legged fadeaway, or LeBron’s size and speed driving into the paint you know back when LeBron cared, even if everyone knew, they couldn’t exactly stop it. Donovan is really finding his teammates and acting upon the openings the defense is giving him. His quick decision making is actually quite remarkable.

Today’s point guard isn’t the traditional point guard from years back. It’s more of a hybrid. Curry for example is a good point guard because he can create for others while still scoring. Same with James Harden. And so Donovan Mitchell fits in that mold. He’s been averaging 27.8 points per game in these last 24 games which is elite and the more he gets to play at point guard or have the mentality of one, the more I think Donovan will succeed. But what do you think? Will Donovan shift more to point guard? How far can the Jazz go?

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